SAINT LEO, Fla. – Top-seeded and No. 1 ranked Saint Leo is advancing to the NCAA Softball Division II South Super Regional after shutting out fifth-seeded Tampa in the sixth and final game of the South Region 1 bracket in extra-innings. The Lions posted a 1-0 victory and are set to host the South Super Regional next week.
The back-and-forth defensive battle between Sunshine State Conference (SSC) foes featured 14 combined strikeouts and a total of 238 pitches thrown between both of the team's starting pitchers. Tampa's Gwen McGinnis pitched 7.2 innings as she allowed just one run (earned) on six hits in addition to issuing two walks and tallying seven strikeouts.
For the Saint Leo, senior
Tierney Hocquard pitched a complete-game 8.0 inning shutout as she only surrendered six hits and struck out seven batters.
In the bottom of the eighth and the bases loaded, junior
Alex Wright registered a 4-1 walk-off walk to seal the Lions fate to the Super Regional as they will host seventh-seeded Alabama-Huntsville next week at Mary Cannon Cabot Stadium. This marks the first time since 2018 that the Lions are back in the South Super Regional.
